National Securityhttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/national-security
en-usTue, 03 Mar 2015 19:44:03 -0500Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:44:03 -0500The latest news on National Security from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/cnn-isis-kitten-nutella-banner-2015-2CNN shares insight into ISIS's recruiting techniques ... http://www.businessinsider.com/cnn-isis-kitten-nutella-banner-2015-2
Wed, 18 Feb 2015 10:19:00 -0500Julia La Roche
<p>In addition to murdering innocent civilians and producing appalling propaganda videos, the jihadist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS and ISIL) has reportedly developed some creative and effective recruiting techniques.</p>
<p>Last year, for example, the group successfully <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/isis-recruits-denver-teens-to-fight-2014-10">persuaded three Colorado schoolgirls they contacted on the Internet </a>to steal passports and money from their parents and fly to Turkey to join up.&nbsp;</p>
<p>This morning, CNN shared some insight on some of ISIS' unconventional recruiting tools:&nbsp;</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/54e4a375ecad04866e3d769b-978-692/screen shot 2015-02-18 at 9.35.56 am.png" border="0" alt="CNN ISIS banner"></p>
<p>Now people in the West can finally understand what they're up against!</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cnn-isis-kitten-nutella-banner-2015-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-facts-putin-world-controversy-2015-1">11 Facts That Show How Different Russia Is From The Rest Of The World</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/david-haines-murder-by-isis-pure-evil-cameron-2014-9DAVID CAMERON: 'The Murder Of David Haines Is An Act Of Pure Evil'http://www.businessinsider.com/david-haines-murder-by-isis-pure-evil-cameron-2014-9
Sat, 13 Sep 2014 19:15:20 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5414cd5d6bb3f7a67e74ec63-1200-924/david-cameron-35.jpg" border="0" alt="David cameron"></p><p>UK Prime Minister David Cameron late Saturday appeared to confirm the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/david-haines-isis-2014-9" target="_blank">execution of British aid worker David Haines</a> by the extremist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL), calling it an "act of pure evil" and vowing justice.</p>
<p>"<span>The murder of David Haines is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to his family who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude," Cameron said in a statement.</span></p>
<p>"<span>We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes."</span></p>
<p>ISIS released a video late Saturday evening claiming to show the beheading of Haines, the third Westerner the group has brutally murdered over the past month. The other two executions, of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, led US President Barack Obama to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-statement-on-james-foley-death-isis-2014-8" target="_blank">expand a military campaign against the group</a>.</p>
<p>Haines' beheading appeared to come at the hands of the&nbsp;<span>militant known as "Jihadi John," who speaks English in a British accent and was featured in the two previous execution videos.&nbsp;</span><span><br></span></p>
<p><span>The British Foreign Office has said it is "working urgently" to verify the video. It said that if authenticated, it would prove to be another "disgusting murder" by the group.</span></p>
<p><span><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5414cf616da811f874d5ac2f-720-540/david-haines-2.jpg" border="0" alt="David Haines"></span></p>
<p><span><span>Haines was working in Syria for the French aid humanitarian aid agency ACTED. He was kidnapped after only three days in Syria, and was reportedly later sold to ISIS. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>After ISIS revealed it was holding Haines hostage in the video showing the execution of Sotloff, ACTED&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.acted.org/en/statement-acted-aid-worker-david-haines">said</a>&nbsp;it "<span></span><span>strongly condemns the violence and threats against David. A man’s life should never be threatened on account of his humanitarian commitment."</span><span><br></span></span></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/david-haines-isis-2014-9" >ISIS Kills British Aid Worker David Haines</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/david-haines-murder-by-isis-pure-evil-cameron-2014-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/china-says-the-iphone-is-a-threat-to-national-security-2014-7CHINA: The iPhone Is A Threat To National Securityhttp://www.businessinsider.com/china-says-the-iphone-is-a-threat-to-national-security-2014-7
Fri, 11 Jul 2014 08:31:00 -0400
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/52b1a6bfeab8ea810e533c22-480-/iphone-china.jpg" border="0" alt="iphone china" width="480" /></p><p>Chinese state media on Friday branded Apple Inc's <a class="cite">iPhone</a>&nbsp;a threat to national security because of the&nbsp;<a class="cite">smartphone</a>'s ability to track and time-stamp user locations.</p>
<p>A report by broadcaster CCTV criticized the&nbsp;<a class="cite">iPhone</a>'s "Frequent Locations" function for allowing users to be tracked and information about them revealed.</p>
<p>"This is extremely sensitive data," said a researcher interviewed by the broadcaster. If the data were accessed, it could reveal an entire country's economic situation and "even state secrets," the researcher said.</p>
<p>Apple was not available for immediate comment.</p>
<p>Apple has frequently come under fire from Chinese state media, which accused the company of providing user data to&nbsp;<a class="cite">U.S. intelligence</a>&nbsp;agencies and have called for 'severe punishment'. It has also been criticized for poor customer service.</p>
<p>The&nbsp;<a class="cite">California</a>-based company is not the only U.S. firm to suffer from Chinese media ire.</p>
<p>Google Inc &lt;GOOGL.O&gt; services have been disrupted in&nbsp;<a class="cite">China</a>&nbsp;for over a month, while the central government procurement office has banned new government computers from using Microsoft Corp's &lt;MSFT.O&gt; Windows 8&nbsp;<a class="cite">operating system</a>.</p>
<p>Other U.S. hardware firms such as Cisco Systems Inc and IBM Corp have experienced a backlash in&nbsp;<a class="cite">China</a>&nbsp;from what analysts and companies have termed the 'Snowden Effect', after U.S. spying revelations released last year by former U.S. National Security Agency contractor&nbsp;<a class="cite">Edward Snowden</a>.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Christopher Cushing)</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-says-the-iphone-is-a-threat-to-national-security-2014-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/rick-perry-obama-border-crisis-illegal-immigration-2014-7Rick Perry Has A 'Conspiracy' Theory About Obama And The Border Crisishttp://www.businessinsider.com/rick-perry-obama-border-crisis-illegal-immigration-2014-7
Mon, 07 Jul 2014 08:14:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/53ba8c1369beddd94d4b9956-1200-800/screen shot 2014-07-07 at 8.00.55 am.png" border="0" alt="Rick Perry" /></p><p>Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry on Sunday again floated a theory that President Barack Obama and the federal government might be "in on" coordinating a surge of immigrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, prompting a grilling from ABC's Martha Raddatz.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Perry first put out his suggestion last week during an appearance on Fox News, when he said the Obama administration "might be in on this somehow." On ABC's "This Week," Raddatz asked Perry if he "really believes" there is "some sort of conspiracy to get people in the United States."</p>
<p>Perry, who is weighing a second presidential run in 2016, said he had sent a letter to the Obama administration in May 2012 warning of the surge in unaccompanied minors crossing the border. The fact he had yet to receive a response, he said, proved the administration was either inept or doesn't care about the crisis.</p>
<p><span>"When I have written a letter that is dated May of 2012, and I have yet to have a response from this administration, I will tell you they either are inept or don&rsquo;t care, and that is my position," Perry said.</span></p>
<p><span>"We have been bringing to the attention of President Obama and his administration since 2010. He received a letter from me on the tarmac. I have to believe that when you do not respond in any way, that you are either inept, or you have some ulterior motive of which you are functioning from."</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-plan-border-immigration-crisis-2014-6" target="_blank">Obama administration officials said last month</a> that, as of June 15, 52,000 unaccompanied children from Central America have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition, border officials have taken into custody 39,000 more adults with children as of May 31.</p>
<p>Hundreds are coming over the border every day,&nbsp;mostly making their way from violence-stricken areas in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.&nbsp;The causes for the influx are many, but a large portion are children fleeing increased drug and gang violence.</p>
<p><span>Perry said the "real issue" has been Obama's policies on immigration, which he said have been too lenient toward illegal immigration and have given people the false impression they can migrate to the U.S. without consequence.</span></p>
<p><span><span>"The president has sent powerful messages time after time &mdash; by his policies, by nuances that it is OK to come to the United States and you can come across and you&rsquo;ll be accepted in open arms. That is the real issue," Perry said.</span></span></p>
<p>Raddatz continued to press Perry, asking him whether a 2008 law signed by then-President George W. Bush is at all to blame for the current crisis. The law, opponents argue, has made it nearly impossible to fast-track deportations, leading to a backlog in federal courts.</p>
<p>When Raddatz asked Perry if that law should be changed, he demurred.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span>"The rule of law is that the Constitution requires the United States to secure the border," he said. "And we're not doing that. We haven't done it for years. And we are paying a huge price."</span></p>
<p>Here's the clip:<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://abcnews.go.com/video/embed?id=24443873"></iframe><br /><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/us">ABC US News</a> | <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/sports">ABC Sports News</a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rick-perry-obama-border-crisis-illegal-immigration-2014-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/new-snowden-leaks-ordinary-citizens-data-targeted-2014-7The NSA Has Gathered 'Startlingly Intimate' Data On A Whopping Amount Of Ordinary Citizenshttp://www.businessinsider.com/new-snowden-leaks-ordinary-citizens-data-targeted-2014-7
Sun, 06 Jul 2014 06:49:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/536f7c2beab8eae1091e8f98-1200-667/170248179-1.jpg" border="0" alt="edward snowden" /></p><p>The National Security Agency has gathered "startlingly intimate" data on a vast number of ordinary citizens, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/in-nsa-intercepted-data-those-not-targeted-far-outnumber-the-foreigners-who-are/2014/07/05/8139adf8-045a-11e4-8572-4b1b969b6322_story.html" target="_blank">according to a new report in The Washington Post</a> based on documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.</p>
<p>The NSA is far more likely to intercept conversations between ordinary internet users than terror suspects, according to the report, which was based off a four-month review of more than<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;160,000 emails and instant-message conversations, as well as 7,900 documents lifted from 11,000 online accounts.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The Post's report said that 9 out of 10 users found in the cache of the NSA's intercepted conversations were not the intended target. Many were Americans, and nearly half the files contained names, email addresses, and other "startlingly intimate" details of U.S. residents.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>NSA analysts tried to conceal, or "minimize," about 65,000 references to these details to protect people's privacy. But the Post said it had found about 900 more additional email addresses linked to U.S. citizens that were not masked.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>At the same time, the documents reveal the intercepted messages sometimes contained material of significant intelligence value. For example, the documents contain revelations about a "<span>secret overseas nuclear project, double-dealing by an ostensible ally, a military calamity that befell an unfriendly power, and the identities of aggressive intruders into U.S. computer networks."</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span><span>The Post didn't detail the specifics of these revelations to not interfere with ongoing operations.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span>The documents also disclose that months of tracking his communications led directly to the&nbsp;<span>2011 capture in Abbottabad of Muhammad Tahir Shahzad, a Pakistan-based bomb builder, and Umar Patek, a suspect in a 2002 terrorist bombing on the Indonesian island of Bali.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span><span>Other documents depict some intimate details about the ordinary daily lives of more than 10,000 people &mdash; telling "<span>stories of love and heartbreak, illicit sexual liaisons, mental-health crises, political and religious conversions, financial anxieties and disappointed hopes."</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p>The documents reviewed by the Post came&nbsp;<span>from domestic NSA operations under the broad authority granted by Congress in 2008 with amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, according to the Post. Since Snowden originally leaked material to journalists, intelligence officials have said these types of documents were far beyond what Snowden could have acquired.</span></p>
<p>Read the full story at the Post <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/in-nsa-intercepted-data-those-not-targeted-far-outnumber-the-foreigners-who-are/2014/07/05/8139adf8-045a-11e4-8572-4b1b969b6322_story.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/snowden-leaks-timeline-2014-6" >SNOWDEN: Here's Everything We've Learned In One Year Of Unprecedented Top-Secret Leaks</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/new-snowden-leaks-ordinary-citizens-data-targeted-2014-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/fundraiser-nsa-proof-email-protonmail-2014-6This 'NSA-Proof' Email Service Raised $160,000 And Signed Up 200,000 Users In Just One Monthhttp://www.businessinsider.com/fundraiser-nsa-proof-email-protonmail-2014-6
Sat, 21 Jun 2014 18:05:00 -0400Dylan Tweeny
<p><a href="http://protonmail.ch/" target="_blank"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/51afda2c69bedd5d48000000-400-300/nsa-headquarters.jpg" border="0" alt="NSA headquarters" />ProtonMail</a>, an encrypted email service that advertises itself as &ldquo;NSA-proof,&rdquo; launched to much acclaim about a month ago.</p>
<p>Since then, the company says it has signed up 200,000 users&nbsp;&ndash; and it just launched a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/protonmail" target="_blank">fundraising campaign on Indiegogo</a>&nbsp;because, co-founder Andy Yen says, &ldquo;that is the best way to get financing and&nbsp;also keep ProtonMail independent.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Three days after the Indiegogo campaign kicked off, the team has already raised $160,000 &mdash; 60 percent more than its initial&nbsp;goal.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We could be&nbsp;on track to become one of&nbsp;the largest software crowdfunding campaigns ever,&rdquo; Yen boasted.</p>
<p>Accounts on ProtonMail are free (though at the moment you have to sign up for a waiting list before you can create an&nbsp;<a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/06/21/fundraiser-to-support-nsa-proof-email-gets-off-to-a-roaring-start/#" class="kLink"><span style="color: #4479bd;"><span class="kLink">account</span></span></a>). Yen said basic accounts would always be free, but that in the future the company would charge power users a &ldquo;modest monthly fee&rdquo; for additional storage, in order to make ProtonMail into a self-sustaining business.</p>
<p>End-to-end encryption is one of the few ways to ensure true privacy in any communications channel. The trouble is that setting up encrypted email has generally been a difficult matter. Encrypted chats have, until recently, been almost as problematic.</p>
<p>(One notable exception: Many chat clients, including Adium &mdash; but not Google Talk &mdash; offer&nbsp;an&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging" target="_blank">off-the-record (OTR) chat mode</a>&nbsp;that is extremely simple to set up and offers &ldquo;<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/08/pushing-perfect-forward-secrecy-important-web-privacy-protection" target="_blank">perfect forward secrecy</a>,&rdquo; meaning each chat session is encrypted with a unique key. If you want to chat securely with me, ask me for my AIM account.)</p>
<p>Other attempts to simplify the process of secure chat or secure email have occasionally&nbsp;been curtailed either by doubts about their technical security. CryptoCat, for example, is quite controversial among&nbsp;<a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/06/21/fundraiser-to-support-nsa-proof-email-gets-off-to-a-roaring-start/#" class="kLink"><span style="color: #4479bd;"><span class="kLink">security&nbsp;</span><span class="kLink">experts</span></span></a>&nbsp;because of a vulnerability an an earlier version of the chat tool. Security can also be compromised if&nbsp;the companies don&rsquo;t have legal jurisdiction to ensure true privacy in the event of a subpoena &mdash; HushMail, for instance, has said that it will hand over your emails if subpoenaed; Lavabit shut down rather than do the same.</p>
<p>So we asked Yen: Why should anyone trust ProtonMail?</p>
<p>&ldquo;The main idea is to encrypt data before it even comes to our servers, using an encryption password that we do not have access to, so we don&rsquo;t have the ability to decrypt the encrypted data on our servers,&rdquo; Yen told us.</p>
<p>In other words, even if the NSA got hold of emails cached on ProtonMail&rsquo;s servers, they would not be able to decrypt them &mdash; and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/protonmail" target="_blank">ProtonMail won&rsquo;t have the keys either</a>.</p>
<p>Yen added that the team &mdash; which is comprised of CERN and MIT computer scientists &mdash; is being careful to get its technology&nbsp;<a href="https://protonmail.ch/blog/protonmail-security-contributors/" target="_blank">vetted by security experts</a>. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had constant input from the computer security team at CERN and hundreds of computer scientists on the staff there,&rdquo; Yen said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We believe in crowdsourcing security and we have a growing list of experts helping us to perform security cross checks and make improvements throughout the beta. We will get even more of the community involved by open sourcing the relevant parts of the codebase when the code becomes more mature and changes less often.&rdquo;</p>
<p>In addition, the company is&nbsp;<a href="https://protonmail.ch/pages/security_details.php" target="_blank">headquartered in Switzerland</a>, which &mdash; so far &mdash; has a pretty good record of independence from other governments&rsquo; intrusions.</p>
<p>&ldquo;ProtonMail, like any other security system, is not a magic bullet, as there is no such thing as 100 percent secure,&rdquo; Yen said, pointing to the company&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://protonmail.ch/blog/protonmail-threat-model/" target="_blank">threat model</a>&nbsp;for details on what attacks ProtonMail is &mdash; and is not &mdash; meant to counter.</p>
<p>The fact that 200,000 people have signed up for ProtonMail already is a sign that there&rsquo;s a small but significant number of people who care enough about their privacy to use encrypted email systems. And other encrypted messaging services, such as SilentCircle and Wickr, have seen some traction &mdash; though they haven&rsquo;t come close to rivaling the giants, like WhatsApp, Tango, or the big email services.</p>
<p>Maybe that&rsquo;s because people don&rsquo;t care much about privacy. Or maybe it&rsquo;s because encryption is still too hard to use, or too mysterious of a concept.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We feel the security community has an obligation to lower&nbsp;the entry barrier so people can get used to the idea of encryption and we can begin to educate them about encryption,&rdquo; Yen said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That is how you get a user base that you can then gradually transition to more and more secure systems over time."</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/silent-circle-blackphone-2014-6#ixzz35JRGhqAG" >The Smartphone Even The NSA May Have Trouble Hacking Is Coming Soon</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fundraiser-nsa-proof-email-protonmail-2014-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/andriy-deshchytsia-putin-curse-word-head-2014-6Russia Explodes At Ukraine After One Of Its Top Diplomats Called Putin A 'D—head'http://www.businessinsider.com/andriy-deshchytsia-putin-curse-word-head-2014-6
Mon, 16 Jun 2014 08:45:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/539edf3aeab8ead5275f9f71-1200-924/vladimir-putin-131.jpg" border="0" alt="Vladimir Putin" /></p><p></p>
<p>Ukraine's foreign minister caused a diplomatic row with Russia on Sunday after nonchalantly referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin as the equivalent of a "dickhead."</p>
<p><span>Andriy Deshchytsia's salty comment, which he made while trying to reason with protesters outside the Russian embassy in Ukraine, sparked calls from Russia for his resignation.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>Deshchytsia showed up at the embassy in response to sometimes-violent protests outside the embassy. Ukrainians overturned cars and broke windows at the embassy over the weekend after pro-Russian separatists shot down a Ukrainian military plane, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pro-russia-rebels-shoot-down-military-plane-2014-6" target="_blank">killing all 49 people aboard</a>.</span></p>
<p>After <span>Deshchytsia</span>&nbsp;tried to calm the crowd, he was shouted down. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/15/ukraine-minister-deshchytsia-abusive-putin-russia" target="_blank">According to The Guardian</a>, he then said, "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I am for you protesting. I am ready to be here with you and say 'Russia, get out of Ukraine.' ... <em><strong>Yes, Putin is a khuilo,</strong></em> yes."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The Guardian translates "khuilo" as a Russian swearword that means "f&mdash;er<span>" or "dickhead."</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Russia did not take the comment well, after already being incensed about the protests on the embassy.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told French counterpart Laurent Fabius that he was furious about "</span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">the inaction of the Kiev authorities who allowed the rioting outside the Russian embassy," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Russian lower house of parliament's international affairs committee, <a href="https://twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov/status/478102831397085184" target="_blank">suggested</a> on Twitter that new Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko "ought to change" his foreign minister. He added that&nbsp;<span>Deshchytsia does not "control himself" very well, and he might get drunk and "barf all over the U.N. General Assembly."</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Geoffrey Pyatt, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, took a different tone, praising the "skilled diplomat"&nbsp;<span>Deshchytsia on Twitter for "seeking to defuse a dangerous situation."</span></span></span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/zikifa">@zikifa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/j_parus">@j_parus</a> Agree. Great credit to <a href="https://twitter.com/ADeshchytsia">@ADeshchytsia</a> for seeking to defuse a dangerous situation. A skilled diplomat and credit to <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Ukraine&amp;src=hash">#Ukraine</a></p>
&mdash; Geoffrey Pyatt (@GeoffPyatt) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeoffPyatt/statuses/478140029571964929">June 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span>That comment earned a snipe from the head of the Kremlin-funded television station Russia Today,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/M_Simonyan/status/478142210664562688" title="">Margarita Simonyan</a>, who quipped that Ukraine must have legalized marijuana. "Whoa, bad idea," she wrote on Twitter.</span></span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>Американский посол про известную сентенцию Дешицы написал, что Дешица проявил себя как искусный дипломат. Ох, зря они травку легализуют.</p>
&mdash; Маргарита Симоньян (@M_Simonyan) <a href="https://twitter.com/M_Simonyan/statuses/478142210664562688">June 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>For his part,&nbsp;<span>Deshchytsia hasn't directly yet commented on the diplomatic row surrounding his off-hand remarks near the Russian embassy.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span><span>He did write on Twitter: "We managed to stop violence at the Russian embassy yesterday, but it will be difficult to do so in future if Russian aggression continues."</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span>The Ukrainian crisis has intensified in the past few days &mdash; even before the incidents over the weekend. Last Thursday, Russian <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-ukraine-tanks-war-putin-obama-2014-6" target="_blank">tanks made their way into the hands of pro-Russian separatists,</a>&nbsp;an escalation the U.S. called "unacceptable."</span></span></span></p>
<p>The new developments led U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to call on President Barack Obama to impose new sanctions on Russia.<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>"In my view, unless Putin is confronted by stronger disincentives, he will not cease support for the insurgents who are occupying more and more Ukrainian territory along the Russian border," Menendez wrote in a letter to Obama. "He will continue to seek to ensure that the Ukrainian government can&rsquo;t stabilize the situation or address the pressing needs of the Ukrainian public."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-ukraine-tanks-war-putin-obama-2014-6" >Russia Just Significantly Escalated The Crisis In Ukraine</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/andriy-deshchytsia-putin-curse-word-head-2014-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/gore-remarks-snowden-2014-6AL GORE: Snowden Is A Whistleblowerhttp://www.businessinsider.com/gore-remarks-snowden-2014-6
Tue, 10 Jun 2014 20:45:59 -0400Adam Chandler
<p><span><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5397a57a6bb3f7fd392ef7a6-480-/al-gore-1-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Al Gore 1" width="480" />Popular vote conquerer and f</span><span>ormer Vice President Al Gore added his name to the list of top political figures who think Edward Snowden's revelations about NSA surveillance programs might outweigh his crimes. Speaking earlier on Tuesday at the Southland tech conference in his home state of Tennessee, Gore&nbsp;<a href="http://pando.com/2014/06/10/gore-at-southland-snowden-revealed-far-bigger-violations-than-the-one-he-committed/">was asked</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<em>ye olde Snowden traitor-hero</em>&nbsp;question.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>After dispensing with the undeniable, namely that Snowden had broken the law, Gore deferred on designating Snowden either hero or traitor, adding that he would "would push it more away from the traitor side." Then came the red meat:</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span>But what he revealed in the course of violating important laws included violations of the Constitution that were way more serious than the crimes he committed. In the course of violating important laws he also provided an important service because we did need to know how far this has gone."</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Gore is not the first guy who was once at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket to lend Snowden's actions some support. Last year, former President Jimmy Carter&nbsp;<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/18/jimmy-carter-edward-snowden_n_3616930.html">offered</a>&nbsp;that Snowden's actions were "beneficial" and echoed those remarks in March by&nbsp;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/03/26/jimmy-carter-says-he-would-consider-pardoning-edward-snowden/">declaring</a>&nbsp;that he "would certainly consider pardon" if Snowden's damage to the American security apparatus were deemed minimal.</p>
<p>Michael Dukakis (FWIW) also seems to come down somewhere within the margins of the Carter-Gore spectrum. At a forum in Boston last year, he&nbsp;<a href="http://bostonglobalforum.org/2013/12/bgfs-first-distinguished-lecture-with-chairman-michael-dukakis/">refused</a>&nbsp;to condone Snowden's illegal act, but also said this:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span>I don&rsquo;t know too many Americans, liberals and conservatives alike, who aren&rsquo;t very concerned about this kind of intrusion into our private lives."</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Former President Bill Clinton was a bit less forgiving,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/bill-clinton-edward-snowden-105532.html">labeling</a>&nbsp;Snowden "an imperfect messenger." However, Clinton also added that Snowden's work "h<span>as raised all of these questions about whether we can use technology to protect the national security without destroying the liberty, which includes the right to privacy, of basically innocent bystanders.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span>For those keeping tabs, John Kerry, John McCain, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, and Mitt Romney have either come out vociferously against Snowden or not said much about it at all.&nbsp;</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gore-remarks-snowden-2014-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/bowe-bergdahl-taliban-talks-evan-buetow-2014-6BERGDAHL'S TEAM LEADER: He Sought Talks With The Taliban When He Lefthttp://www.businessinsider.com/bowe-bergdahl-taliban-talks-evan-buetow-2014-6
Tue, 03 Jun 2014 16:34:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/538e2f9aecad04ef4b94d744-1200-924/evan-buetow-bergdahl.png" border="0" alt="Evan Buetow Bergdahl" /></p><p>Former Army Sgt. Evan Buetow, the team leader the night Bowe Bergdahl initially disappeared, <a href="http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/03/team-leader-bowe-bergdahl-wanted-to-talk-to-taliban/" target="_blank">told CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday</a>&nbsp;that his team intercepted radio chatter indicating Bergdahl was seeking talks with the Taliban when he first walked away.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span>"Bergdahl is a deserter, and he's not a hero," Buetow said.&nbsp;"He needs to answer for what he did."</span></p>
<p><span>In the days after Bergdahl's disappearance, Buetow said teams looking for him intercepted radio chatter indicating he was in a village two miles away and was "<span>looking for someone who speaks English so he can talk to the Taliban."</span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>"I heard it straight from the interpreter's lips as he heard it over the radio," Buetow said. "There's a lot more to this story than a soldier walking away."</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>The Obama administration in recent days has come under increasing fire for its decision to swap five Taliban-affiliated prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay for Bergdahl. F<span>ellow soldiers who served with Bergdahl have&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bowe-bergdahl-backlash-2014-6" target="_blank">questioned whether he willingly deserted his unit</a>, and they say at least six soldiers died in subsequent searches for him.<span><br /></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span>Secretary of the Army John McHugh said in a statement Tuesday there will be a "comprehensive, coordinated" review into the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl's initial disappearance. He said that review would include speaking with Bergdahl.</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>A <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-cable-about-bowe-bergdahl-2014-6" target="_blank">cable released by WikiLeaks</a>&nbsp;described the frantic days after Bergdahl's initial disappearance, including a report of him "talking and looking for someone who speaks English." But Buetow's allegation takes it further.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p>Buetow also described the night Bergdahl initially disappeared. He said Bergdahl&nbsp;was about start his shift as a guard, but a fellow soldier did not find him in his tent when he tried to wake him up. In his tent remained weapons, his bullet-proof vest, and night vision gear.</p>
<p>"I immediately knew, I said, 'He walked away. He walked away,'" Buetow said.</p>
<p><span><span><span>The Obama administration has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/martin-dempsey-bowe-bergdahl-pow-swap-2014-6" target="_blank">defended its decision to secure Bergdahl's release</a> from critics who say President Barack Obama broke the law by not consulting Congress. But&nbsp;<span>Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey said in a statement Tuesday the military would look into the circumstances of his departure.&nbsp;</span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span>Here's the clip of Buetow on CNN:</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><iframe width="416" height="234" frameborder="0" src="http://www.cnn.com/video/api/embed.html#/video/us/2014/06/03/nr-sot-tapper-evan-buetow-bowe-bergdahl.cnn"></iframe></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bowe-bergdahl-taliban-talks-evan-buetow-2014-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/snowden-brian-williams-interview-putin-russia-2014-5SNOWDEN: I'M NOT A RUSSIAN SPYhttp://www.businessinsider.com/snowden-brian-williams-interview-putin-russia-2014-5
Wed, 28 May 2014 22:30:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/53869cc3eab8ea3d69497606-1200-706/screen shot 2014-05-28 at 8.15.37 pm.png" border="0" alt="Screen Shot 2014 05 28 at 8.15.37 PM" /></p><p>National Security Agency leak source Edward Snowden <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/edward-snowden-interview/exclusive-edward-snowden-tells-brian-williams-id-go-home-n116756" target="_blank">told</a> NBC's Brian Williams Wednesday night that he has "no relationship" with the Russian government and has never met Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>"I have no relationship with the Russian government," Snowden said. "I've never met the Russian president. I'm not a spy, which is the real question."</p>
<p>Snowden's comments came as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/edward-snowden-interview-2014-5" target="_blank">part of his hour-long interview with Williams</a>, the first Snowden has given to an American television outlet in the aftermath of his stealing of hundreds of thousands of classified documents.</p>
<p>Williams questioned him on whether he had access to the documents, and whether Russia's government could gain access to them.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I took nothing to Russia, so I could give them nothing," he said.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>Snowden is believed to have "touched" around 1.7 million documents on NSA servers. He gave roughly 200,000 of them to journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras after meeting&nbsp;them in Hong Kong in early June.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Russia granted asylum on Aug. 1, from which time Snowden has been in living an undisclosed location. Some observers have speculated Snowden has become a Russian intelligence asset, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ex-spies-say-snowden-is-working-with-russia-2014-5" target="_blank">both potentially with physical documents</a>&nbsp;and the classified information <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/snowden-has-classified-intel-in-his-head-2013-7" target="_blank">he has in his head</a>.</p>
<p>It's worth nothing that though Snowden claims he has "no relationship" with the Russian government, it was the Russian government that granted him indefinite asylum. One of his lawyers, <span>Anatoly Kucherena, also has close ties with the Kremlin.</span>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Snowden's media blitz has already been countered by the U.S. government. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, responding to Snowden's claim the U.S. "stranded" him in Russia, said&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-edward-snowden-russia-brian-williams-interview-2014-5" target="_blank">Snowden should "man up" and answer for his leaks</a>.</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/snowden-brian-williams-interview-putin-russia-2014-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/us-cyberspying-charges-china-military-details-indictments-2014-5Here's What Chinese Military Cyber Hackers Allegedly Stole From US Companieshttp://www.businessinsider.com/us-cyberspying-charges-china-military-details-indictments-2014-5
Mon, 19 May 2014 11:18:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/537a27b76bb3f7e001ea9724-972-554/screen shot 2014-05-19 at 11.47.19 am.png" border="0" alt="Chinese military hackers" /></p><p>A U.S. grand jury in Pennsylvania&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-china-spying-charges-2014-5" target="_blank">indicted five Chinese military officials on 31 counts</a> involving cyber espionage, Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday.</p>
<p>The indictment named five defendants who were part of the Chinese People's Liberation Army &mdash;&nbsp;<span>Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu, and Gu Chunhui.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>They targeted five U.S. companies and one U.S. labor union as part of their hacking &mdash;&nbsp;<span>Westinghouse Electric Co. (Westinghouse), U.S. subsidiaries of SolarWorld AG (SolarWorld), United States Steel Corp. (U.S. Steel), Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI), the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW) and Alcoa Inc.</span></span></p>
<p><span>The grand jury brought 31 counts in total. All defendants were charged in all counts:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">&bull; One count of c</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">onspiring to commit computer fraud and abuse. This count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">&bull; Eight counts of a</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">ccessing (or attempting to access) a protected computer without authorization to obtain information for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain. These counts each carry a maximum of five years in prison.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">&bull; 14 counts of t</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">ransmitting a program, information, code, or command with the intent to cause damage to protected computers. Each count carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">&bull; Six counts of a</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">ggravated identity theft. Each carries a maximum of two consecutive years in prison.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">&bull; One count of economic espionage, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">&bull; One count of trade secret theft, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.</span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span>"The range of trade secrets and other sensitive business information stolen in this case is significant and demands an aggressive response," Holder said Monday. </span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span>"Success in the global marketplace should be based solely on a company&rsquo;s ability to innovate and compete, not on a sponsor government&rsquo;s ability to spy and steal business secrets. This administration will not tolerate actions by any nation that seeks to illegally sabotage American companies and undermine the integrity of fair competition in the operation of the free market."</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span>Here's a breakdown of some of the criminal conduct alleged against the individual companies and labor union:</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">&bull; Westinghouse &mdash;&nbsp;</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">In 2010, while Westinghouse was building four power plants in China, the defendant Sun allegedly stole confidential and proprietary technical and design specifications for pipes, pipe supports, and pipe routing.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">&bull; SolarWorld &mdash;&nbsp;</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">In 2012, the defendant Wen and others allegedly stole "</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">thousands of files including information about SolarWorld&rsquo;s cash flow, manufacturing metrics, production line information, costs, and privileged attorney-client communications relating to ongoing trade litigation, among other things." The Justice Department said this would have theoretically enabled a Chinese competitor to gain an advantage and target SolarWorld on multiple angles.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">&bull; U.S. Steel &mdash;&nbsp;</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">The defendant Sun allegedly sent phishing emails to U.S. Steel employees while the company was participating in trade cases with Chinese steel companies. After the resulting malware was installed on the U.S. Steel computers, Wang allegedly stole hostnames and descriptions of U.S. Steel computers.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">&bull; ATI &mdash;&nbsp;</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">The defendant Wen allegedly&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">stole network credentials for "virtually every ATI employee" in 2012, when the company was involved in a public trade dispute with a China state-owned enterprise.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">&bull; USW &mdash;&nbsp;</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">Also in 2012, Wen allegedly stole emails and other sensitive documents&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">from senior USW employees, at the time USW was involved in public trade disputes with Chinese state-owned enterprises in at least two areas.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">&bull; Alcoa &mdash;&nbsp;</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">The defendant Sun allegedly sent a phishing email to Alcoa addresses about three weeks after the company announced a partnership with a Chinese company. About four months later,&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">unidentified individuals stole thousands of e-mail messages and attachments from Alcoa&rsquo;s computers.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">The FBI also released photos of the alleged hackers, who are now included on the FBI's Most Wanted list of cyber targets:</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/537a273469beddeb63868b04-808-360/screen shot 2014-05-19 at 11.44.58 am.png" border="0" alt="Chinese military hackers" /><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/537a2885eab8eab147c2b5c9-711-342/screen shot 2014-05-19 at 11.51.15 am.png" border="0" alt="Chinese military hackers" /><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/537a28ae6bb3f7890aea9729-700-345/screen shot 2014-05-19 at 11.51.54 am.png" border="0" alt="Chinese military hackers" /><br /></span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-cyberspying-charges-china-military-details-indictments-2014-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/us-china-spying-charges-2014-5The US Government Indicts 5 Chinese Military Hackers On Cyberspying Chargeshttp://www.businessinsider.com/us-china-spying-charges-2014-5
Mon, 19 May 2014 10:29:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5379f35decad049020ea9726-1200-924/barack-obama-xi-china-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Barack Obama Xi China" /></p><p>A U.S. grand jury has indicted Chinese government officials with stealing American trade secrets through cyber espionage, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday.</p>
<p>The charges were handed down on five people who allegedly worked for the People's Liberation Army. They allegedly spied on U.S.&nbsp;<span>companies in the nuclear power, metals, and solar products industries.</span></p>
<p><span>The charges mark the first time the U.S. has brought cyber-espionage charges against a state actor.</span></p>
<p><span><span>Six American companies and one labor union were victims of the Chinese hacking attacks, Holder said. The companies targeted include the United States Steel Corp., Alcoa Inc., Westinghouse Electric, Allegheny Technologies Inc., and SolarWorld AG.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The defendants named in the case were&nbsp;<span>Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu, and Gu Chunhui, who were officers in Unit 61398 of the Third Department of the Chinese People&rsquo;s Liberation Army.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>"For too long, the Chinese government has blatantly sought to use cyber espionage to obtain economic advantage for its state-owned industries,&rdquo; FBI Director James B. Comey said.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>"The indictment announced today is an important step," <span>Comey said.</span>&nbsp;"But there are many more victims, and there is much more to be done. With our unique criminal and national security authorities, we will continue to use all legal tools at our disposal to counter cyber espionage from all sources."</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>The indictment carries 31 total counts. All defendants are charged in all counts. Charges include c<span>onspiring to commit computer fraud and abuse; a<span>ccessing (or attempting to access) a protected computer without authorization to obtain information for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain; t<span>ransmitting a program, information, code, or command with the intent to cause damage to protected computers; a<span>ggravated identity theft; economic espionage; and trade secret theft.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The Obama administration has repeatedly clashed with the Chinese government over cyberspying, and the administration has long been privy to the threats China presents.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">"Chinese actors are the world's most active and persistent perpetrators of economic espionage," the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, a U.S. government agency, in a 2011 <a href="http://www.ncix.gov/publications/reports/fecie_all/Foreign_Economic_Collection_2011.pdf" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;(PDF) titled "Foreign Spies Stealing U.S. Economic Secrets in Cyberspace."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">"</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">U.S. private&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">sector firms and cybersecurity specialists have reported an onslaught of computer network intrusions that have&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">originated in China," the report said.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">President Barack Obama and&nbsp;<span>Chinese President Xi Jinping have held meetings twice in the past year &mdash; last spring in Sunnylands, California, and last September at the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia &mdash; that focused on cybersecurity issues.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>The two countries agreed to hold semiregular talks on cybersecurity and espionage last year.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span>"The President underscored that we view this not simply through a security prism, but what we're focused on is concerns about the potential theft of trade secrets emanating from China," Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, told reporters last September while reading out the Obama-Xi meeting.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span><em>This post was originally published at 8:08 a.m. ET on Monday, May 19, 2014.</em><br /></span></span></span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-china-spying-charges-2014-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/photo-putin-military-command-center-2014-5Take A Look Inside Vladimir Putin's Massive Military Command Centerhttp://www.businessinsider.com/photo-putin-military-command-center-2014-5
Thu, 08 May 2014 09:17:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw a military exercise involving <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-putin-oversees-test-rocket-launches-ahead-of-holiday-says-pre-planned-2014-08#!KY1HW" target="_blank">Russia's nuclear forces and test launches of the country's most powerful rockets</a>.</p>
<p>Putin said the exercises were planned in November, but they <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pew-poll-on-russia-ukraine-2014-5#!KZdQz" target="_blank">came amid escalating tensions with the West</a> over the Ukrainian crisis. Putin oversaw the test exercises at the Russian&nbsp;<span>Defense Ministry's headquarters, along with leaders from other ex-Soviet countries &mdash; Belarus, Armenia, Tajikstan, and Kyrgyzstan &mdash; who are now part of the&nbsp;<span>Collective Security Treaty Organization.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The Kremlin provided a look inside the Russian Defense Ministry's headquarters, one of the first such looks into Putin's massive command center:</span></span></p>
<p><span><span><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/536b85206da811b84b33ed16-1200-801/putin-152.jpg" border="0" alt="Putin military command center" /></span></span></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-belarus-special-forces-2014-2#!KZBQB" >17 Unbelievable Photos Of Special Forces Training In Belarus</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/photo-putin-military-command-center-2014-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/why-russia-wants-ukraine-deal-2014-4BREMMER: Russia Wants This Deal To 'Weaken The Ukrainian Government To The Point Of Collapse'http://www.businessinsider.com/why-russia-wants-ukraine-deal-2014-4
Fri, 18 Apr 2014 09:49:48 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/53512b4d6da811ef3049ed37-1200-924/vladimir-putin-98.jpg" border="0" alt="Vladimir Putin" /></p><p>Russia is aiming to weaken the interim Ukrainian government &mdash; "perhaps to the point of collapse" &mdash; with a new de-escalation <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-deal-russia-separatists-putin-obama-2014-4" target="_blank">deal that has already run into major problems</a>, said Eurasia Group president Ian Bremmer.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Bremmer told Business Insider the deal is "helpful" to keep diplomacy alive for at least a little while longer. But in the end, there are major problems with the deal. Some of its provisions, including all illegal groups disarming, will not likely be completed &mdash; and Russia will look to exploit that.</p>
<p><span>"A key problem is the disarming of illegal groups &mdash; from Moscow's perspective, that means Ukrainian paramilitary organizations too," Bremmer wrote in an email Friday morning.</span></p>
<p>One of the groups to which Bremmer is referring is the ultranationalist Right Sector. Its leader and presidential candidate&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/yarosh-calls-on-supporters-to-get-ready-to-protect-ukraines-sovereignty-343485.html" target="_blank">Dmytro Yarosh told his supporters this week</a>&nbsp;to mobilize and be "prepared to take decisive actions to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."</p>
<p>The Right Sector and other smaller, similar groups have refused the interim Ukrainian government's demands to lay down their arms. Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine also have not de-weaponized, and they <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-deal-russia-separatists-putin-obama-2014-4" target="_blank">said they will continue to remain in government buildings</a> until the members of the interim Ukrainian government resigns.</p>
<p><span>"They've ignored Kiev's demands to put down their weapons," Bremmer said of groups like the Right Sector. "And the Ukrainian government is hard-pressed to push further given the losses they've already taken in Crimea and the East. But I can't imagine Moscow doing much with the groups in the southeast while armed Ukrainian groups elsewhere persist."</span></p>
<p><span>Bremmer said the deal is ultimately helpful in the short-term, since the U.S. and other Western allies are at an impasse over how to further punish and respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Further sanctions won't change how he looks at Ukraine or his behavior, and both the U.S. and European countries are not willing to provide "lethal" military support for Ukraine in the event of conflict.</span></p>
<p><span>The deal provides a path for Ukraine out of a Russian invasion. But it will also make its government much weaker ahead of the May 25 elections &mdash; so the question is how far it wants to proceed down this path.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">"There's lot of reason to be skeptical of the deal," Bremmer said.</span></p>
<p><span>"In short, it's a deal that aims to weaken the Ukrainian government, perhaps to the point of collapse. That's a way out of civil war and Russian invasion. But it's not one that Kiev is going to find attractive."</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-russia-wants-ukraine-deal-2014-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/edward-snowden-putin-q-a-surveillance-2014-4Snowden Makes Stunning Appearance On Putin TV Interview In Apparent PR Stunthttp://www.businessinsider.com/edward-snowden-putin-q-a-surveillance-2014-4
Thu, 17 Apr 2014 07:34:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/534fbc296bb3f75d7ff1c953-1024-768/putin-snowden.jpeg" border="0" alt="Putin Snowden" /></p><p>Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden made a surprise appearance on Thursday at Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual televised call-in with the nation.</p>
<p><span>Snowden's</span>&nbsp;appearance gave Putin the opportunity to defend Russian surveillance, implicitly gaining Snowden's approval. Considering the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-snowden-may-never-leave-russia-2014-3" target="_blank">tightly controlled circumstances of the rogue agent's asylum in Russia</a>, the appearance has been widely seen as a PR stunt.</p>
<p><span>David Herszenhorn, a</span>&nbsp;<span>Moscow-based reporter for The New York Times, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/herszenhorn" target="_blank">called</a><span>&nbsp;it a "stunning in-your-face move" by the Kremlin.</span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/glenn-greenwald-defends-snowden-putin-pr-stunt-2014-4"><strong>UPDATE: Glenn Greenwald Mocks Snowden Critics After Putin PR Stunt</strong></a>&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span>Snowden asked Putin:&nbsp;</span>"Does Russia store, intercept, or analyze, in any way, the communications of millions of individuals, and do you believe that simply increasing the effectiveness of intelligence or law enforcement investigations can justify a place in societies rather than subjects under surveillance?"</p>
<p class="p1"><span>Putin said he would answer by talking as one professional spy to another, noting his past as a KGB agent and Snowden's past in the NSA before he leaked thousands of documents exposing U.S. surveillance programs.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="p1">"Our intelligence efforts are strictly regulated by our law ... "&nbsp;Putin said, according to a translation by Russia Today. "You have to get a court permission to stalk a particular person. We don't have a mass system of such interception. And according to our law, it cannot exist.</p>
<p class="p1">"Of course, we know that criminals and terrorists use technology for their criminal acts, and special services have to use technical means to respond to their crimes. Of course, we do some efforts like that. But we do not have a mass scale, uncontrollable effort like that. I hope we won't do that."</p>
<p class="p1"><span>Putin added that Russia doesn't have the monetary or technical capabilities of U.S. programs.</span></p>
<p class="p1">Snowden's public appearance in Russia will likely add fuel to some U.S. lawmakers' claims that he has more extensive ties with Russia's government than he would like to admit. Mike Rogers, the Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee, <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2014/03/snowden-supporting-in-an-odd-way-russias-crimea-incursion-185571.html" target="_blank">said</a> last month that Snowden was "supporting, in an odd way," the Russian expansion into Crimea.</p>
<p class="p1">Here's the video of Snowden's appearance, via RT:</p>
<p><iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/w1yH554emkY"></iframe></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/putin-admits-troops-crimea-2014-4#ixzz2z8tCoxDq" >Putin Finally Just Made A Big Admission About Ukraine</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/edward-snowden-putin-q-a-surveillance-2014-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/putin-admits-troops-crimea-2014-4Putin Finally Admits To Sending Troops To Crimeahttp://www.businessinsider.com/putin-admits-troops-crimea-2014-4
Thu, 17 Apr 2014 07:07:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/534d72cb69bedd745a106b05-1200-924/vladimir-putin-87.jpg" border="0" alt="Vladimir Putin" /></p><p>Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russian forces had been deployed to Crimea last month to support local defense teams, the first time he has admitted such involvement by Russia.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Putin had repeatedly denied sending any forces to Crimea ahead of the March referendum there that eventually led to the region's annexation by Russia.&nbsp;<span>Putin said the troops were deployed to protect Russian-speaking citizens in Crimea.</span></p>
<p><span>"Of course we had our servicemen behind the self-defense units of Crimea," Putin said during an annual televised call-in with the nation on Thursday. "We had to make sure what is happening now in eastern Ukraine didn't happen there."&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>Three pro-Russian militants died and 13 were wounded Thursday as Ukraine's military defended an attack on its Black Sea base, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/combat-vehicles-east-ukraine-fly-russian-flag-23342397" target="_blank">according to The Associated Press</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The United States and other Western nations <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-putin-ukraine-phone-call-2014-4" target="_blank">have accused Russia of being behind similar unrest</a>&nbsp;in eastern Ukraine, promising additional sanctions if events continue on their current path. Again on Thursday, Putin denied any Russian military forces are in east Ukraine, but many have <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27011605" target="_blank">noted</a> how the situation in eastern Ukraine is starting to play out exactly as it did in Crimea.</p>
<p>In March, Putin's repeated denials of troop deployments in Crimea dumbfounded U.S. officials. When told at a press conference Putin had again denied the charges, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-russia-putin-ukraine-2014-3" target="_blank">U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry couldn't believe it, asking</a>, "He really denied there were troops in Crimea?"</p>
<p>In a press conference earlier that day in Russia, Putin was asked by reporters about the mysterious appearance of men in green uniforms in Crimea. He called them local self-defense units.</p>
<p>"There are many military uniforms. Go into any local shop and you can find one," he said.</p>
<p>He also said then that Russia had no plans to annex Crimea &mdash; which happened less than a month later.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/putin-admits-troops-crimea-2014-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/jonathan-pollard-release-israel-palestine-peace-talks-2014-4The Prosecutor Who Sent Israeli Spy Jonathan Pollard To Jail Says His Release Would Be 'Literally Insane'http://www.businessinsider.com/jonathan-pollard-release-israel-palestine-peace-talks-2014-4
Tue, 01 Apr 2014 18:47:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><span><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/533b3d9a6bb3f7290cc298e4-1200-924/jonathan-pollard.jpg" border="0" alt="Jonathan Pollard" /></span></p>
<p><span>Joseph diGenova, the former U.S. Attorney who prosecuted Israeli spy and former U.S. intelligence agent Jonathan Pollard, said Tuesday his potential release under an emerging deal to extend Israeli-Palestinian peace talks would be "literally insane."</span></p>
<p><span>The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-us-may-release-pollard-2014-4#ixzz2xftL44s6" target="_blank">Obama administration has been weighing whether to release Pollard</a>, the 59-year-old Israeli spy who did historic damage to the U.S. and is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted of espionage in 1987.</span></p>
<p><span>The emerging deal would&nbsp;<span>reportedly extend negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis past an original April 29 deadline and into 2015. In exchange for the release of Pollard, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would also be released.&nbsp;<span>White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters Tuesday no decision has been made on whether to release Pollard.&nbsp;</span></span><span><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">"My first reaction was that it doesn't make any sense because it's literally insane," diGenova told Business Insider in a phone interview Tuesday. "In the midst of the Edward Snowden scandal, this administration is proposing to release a spy who has done some of the gravest damage ever done to the United States."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">DiGenova repeatedly drew the connection between Pollard and Snowden. He said it would inspire Snowden copycats, who would get the hint the federal government would always be ready to cave under the right circumstances. He even said CIA Director John Brennan should threaten to resign if Pollard is freed, much like former CIA Director George Tenet threatened to do in 1998 amid President Bill Clinton's consideration of the move.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">But the most baffling aspect for both diGenova and other experts is that the U.S. is dangling Pollard as an enticement only to extend talks. There is no indication Israel and Palestine are anywhere close to a peace deal, or even close to an agreement on any of the remaining sticking points. Even if the talks are extended, there's a good chance they could ultimately fail.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">DiGenova has been openly critical of President Barack Obama on a host of issues. He is a longtime Republican activist, and he represents a former Marine who has accused Obama of participating in a cover up on the 2012 Benghazi terror attack. But he, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-us-may-release-pollard-2014-4" target="_blank">like others</a>, pointed to the extensive damage done by Pollard's spying.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Pollard, a former Navy intelligence officer, used his top-secret clearance to</span><span>&nbsp;access to&nbsp;</span><span>national defense information. He&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB407/docs/Pollard%20damage%20assess%20CIA.pdf">provided</a><span>&nbsp;</span><span>Israel with thousands of pages of U.S. intelligence on&nbsp;</span><span>military and technical&nbsp;</span><span>intelligence on the Soviet Union, Arab states, and Pakistan. Israel promised to pay him nearly $750,000 to spy, diGenova said.</span><span><br /></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>"For the President to link his release to some vague peace process, give him to the country for whom he worked against his own country ... this is insanity," diGenova said. "No president can conceive of this at a time like this, with Snowden hanging around in Russia. This is mind-boggling. It's lunacy."</span></span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jonathan-pollard-release-israel-palestine-peace-talks-2014-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/mike-morell-putin-ukraine-russia-crimea-2014-3FORMER DEPUTY CIA DIRECTOR: If Putin Wanted To He Could Take A Third Of Ukrainehttp://www.businessinsider.com/mike-morell-putin-ukraine-russia-crimea-2014-3
Sun, 30 Mar 2014 14:09:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><span><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/533855a0ecad04be14756ef3-1200-924/putin-115.jpg" border="0" alt="Putin" /></span></p>
<p><span>Former CIA deputy director Michael Morell said Sunday that with the tens of thousands of troops Russia has amassed on the Ukrainian border, Russia could take "one-third" of Ukraine if President Vladimir Putin "wanted to."</span></p>
<p><span><span>"The capabilities of those troops would be to take perhaps a third of Ukraine if Putin wanted to, but it would be very difficult for him to hold," Morell&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/putin-seeks-diplomatic-leverage-with-troop-buildup-intel-experts-say/" target="_blank">said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday</a><span>.</span></span></p>
<p>"What would happen very quickly is an insurgency would grow up and those troops would be attacked. It would be a very nasty situation. I don't think Putin wants that."</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Morell said he believes Putin has built up the troop presence along the border to strengthen his hand in diplomatic negotiations, as any incursion into Ukraine would likely be met with a long, protracted, and bloody resistance. Michael McFaul, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said last week </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-mcfaul-putin-russia-ukraine-east-war-2014-3" target="_blank">further Russian escalation into eastern Ukraine could lead to years of guerrilla warfare</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Rather, Morell suggested </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-putin-phone-call-ukraine-russia-war-troops-2014-3" target="_blank">Putin's call to U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> signals that he thinks he is in a position of strength at the negotiating table. Putin and Obama agreed on a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and the two are together Sunday in Paris.</span></p>
<p><span><span>"What he's trying to do is maximize what he gets out of this diplomatically. He thinks he's in a strong position. He wants us to come to the negotiating table," Morell said of Putin.</span></span></p>
<p><span>On Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/30/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSBREA2S0K020140330" target="_blank">sent back America's top general in Europe </a>early from a trip in Washington. A Pentagon spokesman said Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO's&nbsp;<span>Supreme Allied Commander Europe, was sent back because</span>&nbsp;of the "lack of transparency&nbsp;<span>and intent from Russian leadership about their military movements across the border."</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Watch the full CBS segment featuring Morell here:</span></span></p>
<p><embed src="http://www.cbsnews.com/common/video/cbsnews_player.swf" scale="noscale" salign="lt" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" background="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="pType=embed&amp;si=254&amp;pid=3FPkmkIMiQkj&amp;url=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/experts-discuss-obamas-surveillance-reforms" height="279" width="425" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mike-morell-putin-ukraine-russia-crimea-2014-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/edward-snowden-statement-obama-nsa-reforms-bill-2014-3EDWARD SNOWDEN: Obama's NSA Reforms Are A 'Turning Point'http://www.businessinsider.com/edward-snowden-statement-obama-nsa-reforms-bill-2014-3
Tue, 25 Mar 2014 17:29:00 -0400Brett LoGiurato
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5331f5aaeab8ea9b570df928-1200-924/snowden-80.jpg" border="0" alt="snowden" /></p><p></p>
<p>Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden on Tuesday hailed President <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-nsa-bill-end-bulk-collection-2014-3" target="_blank">Barack Obama's plan to reform the NSA's bulk surveillance programs</a>&nbsp;as a "turning point" in the debate over privacy and security. Snowden's statement was released by&nbsp;<span>the American Civil Liberties Union, which is coordinating his legal representation as he faces charges for leaking a massive cache of classified files that sparked a massive public debate about the NSA's activities.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>"This is a turning point, and it marks the beginning of a new effort to reclaim our rights from the NSA and restore the public's seat at the table of government," Snowden said.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>Late Monday night, the White House announced Obama&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-nsa-bill-end-bulk-collection-2014-3" target="_blank">intends to introduce legislation that would drastically reform the way</a><span>&nbsp;the NSA collects "metadata" from Americans' phone calls. By doing this,&nbsp;</span>Snowden said Obama admitted the NSA's bulk data collection programs are "in fact unnecessary."</p>
<p>"The very first open and adversarial court to ever judge these programs <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nsa-phone-collection-program-unconstitutional-surveillance-snowden-larry-klayman-2013-12" target="_blank">has now declared them 'Orwellian' and 'likely unconstitutional.'</a> ... Congress is considering historic, albeit incomplete reforms. And President Obama has now confirmed that these mass surveillance programs, kept secret from the public and defended out of reflex rather than reason, are in fact unnecessary and should be ended," Snowden said.</p>
<p>Obama's coming legislative proposal would eliminate perhaps the most controversial aspect of the NSA's collection methods&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;the government's routine collection of Americans' call data, and it would <span>serve as the biggest change to the agency since Snowden's documents became public last year.</span></p>
<p>Under the legislation, which will have to be passed by Congress, the NSA would no longer collect and store so-called metadata from Americans' phones in bulk, leaving that to phone companies.&nbsp;<span>T</span><span>he federal government would be required to obtain individual orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in order to get records from phone companies. The NSA currently retains phone data for five years, but under the proposal, phone companies would only be required to hold the data for 18 months.</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Obama's proposal will be one of a handful Congress considers. The bipartisan leaders of the House Intelligence Committee unveiled a similar plan on Tuesday. A<span>t a press conference in The Netherlands on Tuesday, Obama talked up the merits of his plan.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>"I&rsquo;m confident that it allows us to do what is necessary in order to deal with the dangers of a terrorist attack, but does so in a way that addresses some of the concerns that people have raised," Obama said. "And I&rsquo;m looking forward to working with Congress to make sure that we go ahead and pass the enabling legislation quickly so that we can get on with the business of effective law enforcement."</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Snowden has come under increased scrutiny over the past few days after unnamed U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal they were "very nervous" <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-evading-nsa-and-snowden-2014-3" target="_blank">about Russia's recent ability to evade NSA spying methods</a>. The story never mentioned Snowden, who is currently living in Russia under asylum, but it clearly implied he had somehow aided the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin.&nbsp;</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/edward-snowden-statement-obama-nsa-reforms-bill-2014-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/un-security-council-meeting-ukraine-russia-war-2014-3UN Security Council To Hold Emergency Meeting On Ukraine http://www.businessinsider.com/un-security-council-meeting-ukraine-russia-war-2014-3
Mon, 03 Mar 2014 11:13:00 -0500Brett LoGiurato
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5314a82a6da811b41eaa9900-1200-924/ukraine-85.jpg" border="0" alt="ukraine" /></p><p>The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Monday on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. The meeting is scheduled to take place at 3:30 p.m. ET.</p>
<p>From <a href="http://bnowire.com/inbox/?id=2214" target="_blank">U.N. headquarters</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>The President of the Security Council wishes to inform the members of the Council that a public meeting in connection with the agenda item &ldquo;Letter dated 28 February 2014 from the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2014/136)&rdquo; will be convened today at 3.30 p.m.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>Russia has reportedly requested the meeting.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-gives-ukrainian-forces-in-crimea-ultimatum-to-surrender-2014-3" target="_blank">Russia's Black Sea Fleet has reportedly given Ukrainian forces</a> in Crimea an ultimatum to surrender by midnight ET on Tuesday or face a military assault.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/un-security-council-meeting-ukraine-russia-war-2014-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>